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Breastfeeding for Longer Doesn't Reduce a Child's Risk of Obesity

Written by Julia Haskins
| Published on March 12, 2013

New research challenges the idea that breastfeeding can reduce a child's risk of obesity later in life.

Whether or not to breastfeed (and for how long) is a personal choice
that concerns many mothers and families. Influenced by tradition,
comfort level, and an ever-changing body of medical evidence, the
breastfeeding question can be confusing.

Now, research suggests
that the link between breastfeeding and decreased obesity in children is
not as strong as we once thought, and women have another piece of
information at their disposal when deciding if and for what length of
time to breastfeed.

Researchers at the University of Bristol in
England investigated the impact of the length of time a child is
breastfeed on his or her risk of obesity by tracking the growth of
nearly 14,000 infants in Belarus. Dr. Richard M. Martin and colleagues
modeled their research on the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital
Initiative, which promotes breastfeeding among new mothers.

The
researchers randomly placed mothers into one of two groups: a
breastfeeding promotion and regular practice group and a control group
who did not receive the promotion and practice sessions. As expected,
mothers in the first group breastfed their children for longer and more
exclusively.

Most of the babies were re-examined at 6.5 and 11.5
years old, and researchers found no significant differences in child
adiposity (fatty tissue deposits) and circulating insulin-like growth
factor (IGF-1), which regulates growth, between the two groups.

“Prior
evidence that breastfeeding is beneficial for infant and child health
in industrialized countries was based almost exclusively on
observational studies, which are prone to confounding (i.e. where any
observed protective effects may not be due to breastfeeding per se, but
to differences in the characteristics of mothers who choose to breast or
formula feed),” he explained.

Martin says that a randomized
trial prevents these potential biases. “[W]hile it is not feasible to
randomize healthy term infants to breastfeeding versus formula feeding,
it is possible to randomize hospitals to a breastfeeding promotion
intervention, which is what we did in our trial,” he said.

The Benefits of Breastfeeding

Just
because breastfeeding may not help with weight management doesn’t
discount its many other advantages. And while claims about breastfeeding
are constantly changing, one fact remains, according to the
researchers: “Although breastfeeding is unlikely to stem the current
obesity epidemic, its other advantages are amply sufficient to justify
continued public health efforts to promote, protect, and support it.”

Even
though the trial failed to find a connection between breastfeeding and
decreased obesity, the researchers found other encouraging evidence in
favor of breastfeeding.

“Breastfeeding has many health
advantages for the offspring, including beneficial effects demonstrated
by our trial on gastrointestinal infections and atopic eczema in infancy
and improved cognitive development at age 6.5 years,” Martin said, a
claim supported by research from World Health Organization (WHO).

The
WHO recommends that mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the
first six months of life for optimal growth, development, and health.

How Can I Help My Child Maintain a Healthy Weight?

We all know the importance of teaching our children to stay active and choose healthy foods, but how can you make the process of getting fit more enjoyable?

Get the whole family involved
in creative activities in which everyone participates, from a day at
the park to a trip to the roller rink. Treat exercise as a fun way to
get in shape rather than a chore, and your child will follow suit.

Eating right doesn’t have to be a pain, either. The right presentation and some new lunchbox finds can make a huge difference in getting kids to become more adventurous eaters.

Also pay attention to what you eat and where, and teach your child how to make these healthy decisions for him or herself. Utilize online resources to keep track of your calories, and also take advantage of resources that are just for kids.

Take it one day at a time.
There are no easy fixes for improved health, so think of every day as
an opportunity to incorporate more healthy behaviors into your life.

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